Feedback: Detroit renaissance will continue without federal Promise Zone help

Jan. 18, 2014

Many of us share the disappointment voiced by the Free Press last week that Detroit was not named by President Barack Obama as a Promise Zone under his new anti-poverty initiative. But it is important that the Free Press and its readers know that we are not simply sitting around waiting for a decision on the next round of funding.

Black Family Development’s Promise Neighborhoods work, in partnership with area school districts, foundations, corporations, and dozens of nonprofit organizations, has made considerable progress in recent years with neighborhood based initiatives that address some of the causes of poverty. These initiatives have grown stronger and more sophisticated under the banner of Promise Neighborhoods, another Obama initiative established in 2010. Because of these efforts and because of the conditions we face in Detroit, we are confident that we will be included when more Promise Zones are added in coming years.

We have successfully garnered resources to support our Promise Neighborhoods work in both Clark Park and the Osborn neighborhood that will provide a firm foundation for the Promise Zone when it arrives in our city.

While it is wonderful to have federal financing for programs like Promise Zone, there is much more to improving the quality of life than receiving federal money. Our approach is not to sit and wait for opportunity, we prepare for and create opportunity. So while we are not part of the first round of Promise Zone funding, we are building a firm foundation so that when it is our turn, we will be ready. In the meantime, we are making significant progress in our most challenged neighborhoods.